Tapuria

apuria, also known as the Sacred Bird Islands, is Pal Tahrenor's equivalent to New Zealand. It is quite distinct from Sahuli and its surrounding islands. At the edge of the world, it has been cut off from other geographic land masses for over 80 million years, and was a haven for most native species during the Changer's war. The astral plane has introduced new creatures to the islands' inhabitants, which caused much of the pre-astral wildlife to become extinct. The islands act as an incredible refuge for hundreds of bird species. The environment is extremely hostile for people because of its untamed nature, mirroring the effect magic has had on Ayana. Tapuria is the birthplace of many great birds of myth who broke through the astral plane, including the Ice Rukh, Tempfirus, and Rheanite. It is also a stronghold for endangered or rare birds of other regions, including one type of phoenix.

Geography

The islands are split into north and south, each with its own set of smaller islands surrounding them. They are called Outiaroa & Waivunemu, the latter being south.

Outiaroa

Outiaroa is the northern island of Tapuria, a lush place with a subtropical climate coated in a patchwork of rain forests, waterways, and volcanic areas. Outiaroa has three active volcanoes which shape the land around it and produce black plains. There is plenty of rain in the north, and fish stocks do well on its surrounding beaches. The forests house some particularly dangerous creatures.

The rainforests are comprised of mostly grand, flowering trees, but there are conifers too. Ferns and smaller plants cling to the floor, and pathways appear to open tunnels through the sea of trees where large animals and the Mikur often walk and hunt along. It rains often. The surroundings sing with the songs of small, exotic birds, insects, and the cries of larger animals.

Many of the plants have specialized defenses against animals, although why these extreme defenses evolved after the war is not known. Anything without spines on it is probably poisonous. There is one species of plant that has developed a very strange survival mechanism.

At night, every so often these plants lure anything they can by emitting a pleasantly calming, humming sound by vibrating their leaves. They produce an odd light that spills through darkness. When looked at close up, the plant's protected flowers are actually made of bio-luminescent petals, which make the entire plant appear to glow. When a creature steps foolishly close enough, either out of curiosity or hypnotism, huge spines protrude from the plant's major stem suddenly so as to impale the victim, which it then engulfs with specialized vines that slowly consume the prey. These plants are rare, and only need to feed a large meal about once every few months, but they are easily the most dangerous part of the environment on Tapuria.

Waivunemu

Waivunemu is the southern and larger island of Tapuria. Unlike Outiaroa, Waivunemu is mostly temperate in climate. However, its landscapes and temperatures very sharply from coast to coast. The west coast is wet and dominated by conifer trees and ferns. The eastern coast is much more arid, with some areas receiving so little rainfall that they can be categorized as deserts. This occurs because Waivunemu is split along its length be a large mountain range called the Waivu Mountains.

The Tapurian Sea

The Tapurian Sea is quite large in comparison to the land mass itself. Several of the monstrous species of animal found here are unique to Tapurian Sea. It is clearly visible when sailing upon it because the water appears to be forebodingly black in color. The sea is known for being considerably dangerous, as it effectively blocked contact to the islands for many centuries once the Changers tore through it and introduced many new creatures.

The surface of the Sea appears from dark-blue to black because of a particular kind of seaweed-like plant that grows throughout the majority of the area, called tar weed. The plant can grow to extreme lengths because of its ability to extract nutrients through the water itself without the direct need of sunlight, and can reach to miles in some parts. In the eastern-most patch of sea there is a large area covered with so many of these plants that they reach the surface and can entangle animals, and ships, within their spiny tendrils.

Because of the invasion of tar weed, corals and the colorful fish associated with them exist only in a few small coves on the northwestern coastline and the expanse of shallow water between Outiaroa and Waivunemu. In these hideouts, thousands of beautiful fish and thousands more species of coral survive and flourish, painting a colorful landscape on the shallow sea floor.

History

Separated from the mainland for 80 million years, Tapuria's environment is typical of islands in that its plant and animal species are generally quite specialized, filling every possible ecological niche available. The islands were uninhabited by hyper-intelligent races until around 600 PW, less than five centuries ago. After the Changers' war much of the island's native wildlife was pushed to extinction, but the natural lack of mammals and overwhelming number of bird species did not change. The area also became a refuge for distant birds whose populations had plummeted due to human (and otherwise) pressure.

The first and only settlers of Tapuria are called the Mikur, originating from Setkhantos. The Mikur accidentally brought the Kiore rat with them by ship. The rats destroyed much of the remaining populations of pre-astral birds, but as the rat population increased, so too did the populations of animals who specialized in preying upon small animals. The rat population eventually stabilized.

The number of large, predatory birds on Tapuria made normal life almost impossible. The Mikur were forced to adopt a nocturnal lifestyle to avoid the sharp eyes of the birds, and for over two centuries the tribes of Mikur barely managed to cling to survival. As time passed, the Mikur adopted new skills like tiaju, a practice in which an individual effectively hypnotizes their enemy, much like snakecharming. They also began domesticating animals such as the moa and even the tempfirus, the latter used for protection from predators and other tribes while the former was used for food and down.

The Mikur's culture evolved around the hostile environment of Tapuria, and though generally quite peaceful amongst themselves, they are not open to newcomers. Many explorers and other settlers have been killed by the Mikur people if the predators did not reach them first.

Since the initial settlement of the Mikur, no other settlers have survived on the islands. The many tribes have seen their fair share of wars between each other but in present times it is not a common occurence.